Tuesday, February 21, 2012

New report points out Olympic hypocrisy with regard to Islamist exclusion of women from sport

While the IOC is celebrating Women and Sport in Los Angeles, a new report points out the hypocrisy of the IOC in accepting the participation of countries that exclude women from sport. We recall that the Federation of Gay Games has signed on to an appeal to the International Olympic Committee to respect its principles of sport for all free from religious interference. Read more from Inside the Games:

February 16 - Saudi Arabia should be banned from London 2012 unless they pledge to end discrimination against women which means that the Gulf nation has never sent a female athlete to the Olympics, a new report published today by Human Rights Watch claims.

Saudi Arabia is one of only three countries, long with Brunei and Qatar, never to have sent a female athlete to the Olympics, although Qatar has promised to send women competitors to London providing they qualify.

But in a 51-page report, 'Steps of the Devil': Denial of Women and Girls' Right to Sport in Saudi Arabia," Human Rights Watch claims that Saudi Arabia actively denies girls girls physical education in state schools, as well as following discriminatory practices in licensing women's gyms and supporting only all-male sports clubs.

The Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee also has no programmes for women athletes, which violates the Olympic Charter claims Human Rights Watch, an international non-Governmental organisation based in New York City.

The Charter explicitly forbids "any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, sex or otherwise."

"'No women allowed,' is the Kingdom's message to Saudi women and girls who want to play sports," said Christoph Wilcke, senior Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch.